Happy Passover!
Photo: CD Bank
Pesach with the robots
Want someone else to sit next to your annoying aunt this Pesach? Israeli students program robots to read from the haggadah, pour wine and light holiday candles. Watch the video
Tired of the Pesach
eve - of chewing matzot and reading the never-ending haggadah? Perhaps this year you can get a robot to take your place at the seder table.
Students from the Department of Computer Science at the College of Management programmed robots to sit at the festive table, pour wine, light candles, break a matzah and read from the Passover hagaddah.
- To watch a video of the robots on YouTube, click here
The department's students learn about the theoretical and practical aspects of artificial intelligence, and program robots to perform daily and complicated tasks.
From the video
"The video provides a peek into the capabilities of these robots," explained Prof. Shmuel Itzikowitz, who heads the department. He said that the robots seen in the video are of the same type used by the IDF during the recent military operation in Gaza.
"In the field of security this robotic technology is required to protect people's lives. The applicable robotic tasks at present are mainly independent mapping of suspicious structures, identifying sources of gunfire using several robots scattered on the ground, neutralizing booby-trapped areas and so forth.
"The video includes a basic demonstration of the robot's capabilities. We decided to provide then with the same knowledge humans have – the ability to look at objects, understand, analyze and make decisions. When the robot sees an obstacle it knows to skip over it. When its battery is running low it knows it should get back to the recharging station," Itzikovitz added.
Those who liked the video will probably enjoy another video of the robots in which they are seen dressed up for Purim and dancing, or a video showing the robots dancing the ballet "Swan Lake."
